


Eye of the Beholder

by magicow12



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Adventure, Annabeth doesnt trust reader, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Grover is like readers best friend, Grover thinks reader is the shit, Percy is confused like all the time, Reader is a daughter of Aphrodite, Reader is also insecure about it, SO MUCH FLUFF, Slow Build, TRAGEDY STRIKES, annabeth starts to like reader, chubby!reader, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2016-01-09
Packaged: 2018-04-10 07:54:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4383560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicow12/pseuds/magicow12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy Jackson Is a hero. He is an absolute Dreamboat. <br/>And you can barely say 3 words to him. <br/>Little did you know, Percy thought similar things about you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Avoiding one series by starting another?   
> Great idea, Catherine!  
> There isnt nearly enough love here for Percy, so i'm changing that   
> Love you all my dears <3  
> i hope you like :)

Waking up is your least favourite thing.

It requires a lot of effort, for one, and it also means you have to face your siblings, like your judgey sisters, the other occupants of Cabin 10. As children of Aphrodite, your siblings can all change their appearance, and are all absolutely drop dead gorgeous, among other abilities. You can manage the other abilities almost better than the others, but manipulation of your looks... you can't do. For some reason, your abilities there don't measure up, and at best you can make your hair slightly shinier. However, you did have one up on the others, as you had the ability of charmspeaking, which no one else in your cabin had. 

Groaning, you rolled over, the light coming in through the windows seemingly too bright for you to fall back asleep. You hated this cabin and its pink.. well its pink  _everything._ Pink was your least favourite colour too. The heavy perfume scent of the cabin made you feel lightheaded already, so you pulled yourself up and out of bed, before pulling on a black tank top and some dark wash blue skinny jeans, throwing a knitted grey jumper over the top and shoving your feet into your black converse. the sun was just coming up, and the air was brisk as you pulled the pink door closed behind you and rubbed your arms, the carnations by the door greeting you alongside the early morning chill.

Walking through the camp grounds was peaceful at this time of day, only the early birds waving at you with small, tired smiles as you walked towards the dining pavilion. Sitting down, you grab some fresh bread and cheese, as well as an apple and a handful of grapes when a wood nymph offers them to you, you begin to munch on your small breakfast, silently begging for some pancakes because  _gods_ you missed them. You glanced up when someone entered, and your heart fluttered. _  
_

Percy Jackson.

He breezed into the room, heading over to sit down at his table. He grabbed his own food, and you tried to tear your eyes away from his muscular frame, but couldn't. Gods, did he even know how  _gorgeous_ he was? All the training over the last few years has filled out his body with muscles, and you could never stop staring at him. Ever since he got here, you always found him adorable, but as you both aged, you couldn't help your attraction to him growing, and the more of a hero he becomes, the more you realise how  _good_ he is. You had a feeling you were falling for him, the small conversations you'd had always had you blushing and your heart pounding, but you couldn't tell him how you felt.

You got up when you finished eating, intending to leave and try to get him out of your head, but as you walked out, not really knowing where to aim, you felt a hand on your elbow as someone said your name. Turning around, your (e/c) orbs met sea green ones, a small smile on his lips at your surprised face.

"Woah, sorry, Y/n, didn't mean to startle you." Percy said with a grin, his eyes soft. "No one else is up and when i saw you head out i wondered if you wanted to come for a walk around the camp with me? Just to pass the time, you know, i feel like i haven't spoken to you in forever."

You felt your cheeks heat up slightly, but scolded yourself mentally. He was just asking to be a nice friend, calm down heart! You looked back up at him and nodded with a smile. The two of you began to walk around, companionable silence with a few little chats here and there, always with happy giggles from you and adorable laughs from him. 

Eventually you wound up by the lake, you sitting down on a rock by the edge of the water and Percy sitting next to you. You looked out over the water and sighed, before glancing at him, and catching him watching you with a small grin. You give him a questioning look, and his smile gets bigger.

"Care for a swim?" He asks, a mischievous glint in his eye. It was still early, so hardly anyone was out, and Percy got up and gripped his shirt at the back of his neck, tugging it up and off his body. You swallowed at the sight of him shirtless, your cheeks reddening, but managed to control your breathing and voice enough to say, "I don't have a swimsuit with me."

"Neither do I." He states, wiggling his eyebrows as he takes off his jeans, leaving him in his boxers before he jumps into the lake. The splash hits you, and you burst into a fit of giggles before glaring at him playfully when he comes up for air. "C'mon, just swim in your underwear Y/n."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader confesses her insecurities and Percy tries to help.

Your face fell after he uttered those words.

You looked down at your knees, hugging them to your chest, before shaking your head. You glanced up at him to find him watching you, one eyebrow raised, concern in his eyes. You looked back down at your knees, tracing patterns on your kneecap, unable to meet his gaze. He swam over, folding his arms on the rock by your feet, looking up at you from beneath wet lashes. 

"Y/n, what's wrong? I mean you don't have to if you're not comfortable, I'm sorry if i made you feel that way."

"No, Percy, it's nothing like that. It's just..." You finally looked up at him, wondering whether it was too soon to tell him about your... problems. You were friends, sure, but would it scare him off if you opened up like this right now? Did he think you were close enough for that? 

He placed his hand on your foot, smiling slightly at you, encouraging you. That decided it.

"It's just that i kind of have some... body image issues..." You said quietly, and he was silent for a while, contemplating. You thought you'd made him uncomfortable, so you quickly put on a smile and shrugged. "But don't worry, dude, you swim, ill just relax and watch. It's fine, really." You reassured him firmly, patting his hand. 

He looked at you for a second, before seemingly deciding on something. He grabbed your hand and dragged you into the water with him, fully dressed.

Little shit.

You came up for air, glaring at him properly now. Your clothes were soaked. He openly laughed at you, before swimming up to you and brushing your soaked (h/c) hair behind your ears and resting his hands on your shoulders.

"Y/n, you are so beautiful. How you cant see that... i don't understand how you can't see that, but I see it. I always have." He looked into your eyes, his gaze intense, and you could see there was no dishonesty in them. He was being sincere, and it made your breath hitch. But you couldn't help but hear your siblings voices in your head.

_Fattie._

_Ugly duckling._

_Look at those stretch marks, gods, have you ever seen so many?_

"Well Percy, you'd be the first. Thank you, for trying to make me feel better but i know what everyone says, and I know i'm the least attractive of Aphrodite's kids. Hell, everyone knows it, and my sisters spend all of their waking moments making sure i remember it." You moved away from him, wading back to shore, dragging your now heavier body out of the water, inwardly groaning at how absorbent your jumper was. It would probably take **days**  for it to dry now. You could hear Percy moving behind you, the water sloshing as he got out of the water too, reaching for his shirt and jeans before coming over to stand near you as your wrung the water out of your hair.

"Do they really say things like that to you?" He asked, disbelief evident on his face, concern filling his eyes again. 

"Well, yeah. Why do you think i spend as small an amount of time as possible in that Barbie House. Other than the overwhelming perfume and abundance of pink." You gave him a small smile, squeezing as much water as you could out of you jumper, frowning at it when it still felt heavy. Percy stood in front of you, fully dressed again, putting his finger under your chin and lifting it to look into your eyes. 

"Your sisters are wrong, you know." He frowned slightly. "Why anyone would say that about you is... beyond me, but you are amazing. Please don't put yourself down."

You were blushing furiously at this point, his proximity messing with your head. You pulled away, shaking your head slightly. You grumbled a good bye and walked away as fast as you could, your heart pounding as you went back to your cabin to change, curl up on your bed, and read for the rest of the morning, ignoring Percy's protests behind you as you walked.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You just want to spend a quiet day reading, but Percy wont leave you alone.

You'd only been curled up on your bed for about an hour and a half before you heard someone moving outside your window. You marked your place in the book for next time, You padded over to the window, now wearing a pair of comfy grey shorts and a red plaid button-up flannel shirt, and looked out the window. There, on the other side, are Percy and his little posse, Annabeth and Grover, Percy waving at you enthusiastically, a large grin on his face, Grover giving you his patented smirk and Annabeth smiling at you tightly, as if she wanted nothing more than to not be here.

You opened the window, leaning out of it slightly and resting your arms on the white windowsill. You arched an eyebrow at him, confusion evident on your face.

"We came to see if you wanted to come train with us. I mean, i haven't seen you train in, like, forever. Can't have you getting rusty now, can we?" He grinned at you even wider. His eyes looked so happy, gosh, those puppy dog eyes... how could you resist? 

"That's because i  **haven't** trained in forever... i'm no good at it, why would i wanna do that?" You stated, a playful smile on your lips. You could have sworn you saw Percy focus on your lips for slightly longer than was necessary, but told yourself it was just wishful thinking. Why would Percy Jackson be interested in you? I mean, yeah, he said those words earlier, but that was just pity. People say things like that after you admit to having those kinds of problems. They don't mean anything.

Empty words.

You shook your head, intending to go back inside, before Grover piped up.

"C'mon Y/n, It'll be fun to watch Annabeth kick Percy's ass... Again." He smirked, his eyes darting between the two. Annabeth broke out into a real grin, her competitive nature taking over. Percy glared at him, before turning back to you. 

"Look, i'll help you work on your sword skills, teach you a few pointers. I'm sure Annabeth'll help out too, she helped me out at the start." He glanced back at her, and her face hardened again. You could see the distrust in her eyes. She had never trusted you, and you had no idea why. For years you had been nothing but pleasant to her, but for some reason she never cracked. He looked back at you, a growing smile on his face. "Please? It's better than being cooped up in the perfume factory all day." 

You shook your head again, before looking back into his oceanic eyes. "Fine, Percy. I'll come out and train. just let me get changed. I'll be right out." You stepped back and closed the window, undoing your buttons as you turned. You changed into your basic armour, grabbing your sword belt as you left your room and headed out of the house. You walked up to the little group of three, all of you heading to the training grounds, chatting on the way. 

You spent the rest of the early afternoon watching Percy and Annabeth fight, while Grover helped you out with basic sword skills. Eventually, Annabeth and Grover went to grab some food, and Percy took over your training. You already showed some improvements, but were hardly considered  **good** yet. after a few matches, Percy adjusted your arm, coming to stand behind you and show you a new gripping technique he thought might help. You blushed at his closeness again, but managed to focus, until you felt his hand on your waist. You jumped, shocked by the intimacy of the movement, and he apologized immediately, his face apologetic but his eyes glinting with something akin to amusement. 

Little shit. 

You continued to spar well past lunch, having a great time, relaxing more and more with each match, and finally, after hours of sparring, when you were sweaty and tired, you managed to disarm him, and his face was a picture of shock. Then, his face split in the biggest grin you'd ever seen. You realized quickly that you were smiling widely too. You laughed out loud, dancing in a circle, excitement coursing through your veins, and Percy caught you and spun you, hugging you to his chest tightly as he laughed too. you giggled, wrapping your arms around his neck, returning the embrace, adrenaline making you ignore your cheeks turning red and the butterflies in your stomach.

Percy pulled back slightly, his laughter slowly dying out along with yours, before his gaze shifted from alight with amusement to darker with an intensity you weren't used to. He was watching your lips as they parted, you still panting slightly from exertion, and he licked his own, your eyes following the movement.

Then, he leaned forward, and brushed his lips along yours gently.  


	4. Chapter 4

At first, when you felt his lips on yours, you didn't react. You just froze up. But he didn't move, he kept his lips on yours, until your eyes fluttered closed and you finally responded. You pressed your lips more firmly against his as his one of his hands tightened on your waist, and the other came up to cup your cheek. You tangled your fingers in the hair at the base of his head.

And then you came to your senses.

You pulled away abruptly, looking down to avoid Percy's gaze. You tried to step back, but he pulled you closer to him, ducking down to catch your eyes. You could see the hurt in his eyes, and the concern, but it just made you confused more than anything.

"Percy, what are you doing?" You tried to dodge his look again, but he caught your chin with his thumb and fore finger, forcing you to look at him again.

"It's pretty obvious, Y/n, I'm kissing you. I've kind of wanted to do that for a while." He said, chuckling at the end of his sentence. He noticed you didn't even smile though, and his face started to fall. The concern etched it's way back onto his features as you wriggled free of his grasp, turning your back on him so you didn't have to look at his face, your lips still burning from the kiss.

"Percy, you don't have to do this. Just because I opened up this morning, it doesn't mean you have to force yourself to do this. I'm perfectly fine as I am, I don't need your pity and I sure as hell don't need you to pretend for me. It doesn't make me feel better, and it doesn't help anyone. Please don't do this to me." You started to walk away, before feeling Percy's hand clasp around your wrist.

"Y/n, I-"

"Don't. Please." and with that you wrenched your hand from his grip and walked away, heading straight back to your room and all but ripping your armour from your body before having one of the coldest showers you could manage, touching your lips every now and then, remembering the feeling of Percy's lips on your own.

\----------------------------------------

You were curled up on your bed, your damp hair fanned out behind you, reading again, when your stomach decided to betray you. It grumbled loudly, and even though you had sworn not to go to dinner today to avoid seeing Percy, you knew you had to go get food.

Wearing the same shorts and plaid button up you'd worn earlier, you glanced at your watch as you walked to the dining pavilion. 7:30. Hopefully none of Him and his group were still there. You walked in, grabbing a seat at the edge of your table, trying to stay away from your siblings, even though you could see them casting looks your way and giggling.

You grabbed some food and piled in on your plate, digging in. The sparring session had really made you hungry. One of your sisters, Stephanie, giggled with two of your other sisters before turning your way and speaking loud enough for most of the pavilion to hear, "Hey, feeling a little hungry there piggy? Oink Oink." Your cheeks burned, and you looked down at your food intently as laughter erupted from your table and a few others, small chuckles from the other tables in the room.

Suddenly you weren't so hungry anymore.

You grabbed a few carrot sticks, got up and left, and your siblings snorted at you as you walked past. once out of sight, you broke out into a run, not knowing where to go but going anyway. You ended up by the lake, where you and Percy had been that very morning, and you sat down on the same rock, munching on the carrots you'd grabbed, wiping at the tears you hadn't known were falling. You finished off the sticks, and just sat there, crying, wiping away the tears every time they got to be too much, hiccuping and trying to choke down the sobs that wanted to break out of your chest.

You don't know how long you've sat there, or when you started shivering, but the next thing you know someone is draping a blanket over your shoulder, and sitting next to you, wrapping an arm around you and pulling you into their side, huddling you into their warmth. Turning your head, (e/c) met brown, and a soft smile was on Grover's face.

"Hey, Y/n." He said quietly, and you leaned your head on his shoulder, your tears finally running out, and you sat there, trying to get your breathing under control while he just sat with you. His presence was comforting, and the silence wasn't stifling or awkward. You just sat. Until he broke the silence again. "Percy was gonna come over here, but after the stunt he pulled earlier, i told him you probably wouldn't have been overly fond of the idea." He chuckled, and you managed to snort.

You shook your head lightly, before reaching up and grasping his hand. He squeezed it lightly, reassuring you without words. You and Grover had always gotten along, totally opposite to you and Annabeth, and he was there for you a lot through little fights with your sisters or your brothers, or whenever you needed him, really. And now was definitely one of those times.

"What was he doing, Grover? He has never shown any interest in me, and then all at once he throws these things at me and I just... I don't now what to think. I want to believe him, I do, really, but it is  _so damn hard_ to believe him." You were staring out over the lake, wishing your own feelings-currently in a state of seemingly unending turmoil- would be as peaceful as the lake before you.

"I think you should give him a chance, I know for a fact the guy is nuts about you. He has been for a while, he just doesn't show it around you, i think he was afraid of you rejecting him. But from what he told me earlier, you kissed him back, at least a little bit, and that had him over the moon. It gave him hope that maybe you liked him at least half as much as he liked you." Grover stood up, and offered you his hand to help you. when you stood, you looked at the ground for a second before looking up to him.

"I  **do** like him. A lot. But he's Percy Jackson, hero, and he deserves to have some gorgeous girl by his side, one who is totally badass and fearless and perfect for him and I'm just... Y/n Y/l/n. I'm the chubby daughter of Aphrodite with limited powers and who is scared of her own siblings let alone a monster. He deserves better than me." Your voice got very small by the end of your rant and you couldn't hold eye contact anymore, choosing instead to find your shoes very interesting. 

"I think Percy sees you differently to how you see yourself. I know I do. You're beautiful, and badass once you know which end of the sword to hold." He poked your side, smiling at you, and you gave him a small smile that looked almost more like a grimace. "Just, give him a chance, okay?"

"Give who a chance?" A New voice sounded out from the shadows of the trees, and you gasped as you locked eyes with it's owner.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth confronts you, but maybe its not what you thought?  
> And once things start looking up, tragedy strikes?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOYO  
> Im so sorry  
> so very  
> I also am very sorry if Annabeth is totally bitchy so far but that changes here so YAY.  
> also so sorry for whats about to happen.  
> Please dont hate me. ILY ALL.  
> ill try to update more but with college and my nephew (Who's 7 months old, so time consuming) i may be slow still so im so sorry!  
> Please enjoy! <3  
> More Percy fluff coming next chapter!

You gaped, your mouth opening and closing like a fish, in probably the most hilarious way, as Annabeth walked closer to you. 

"I was just telling Y/n that she should give Percy a chance, y'know, cause he's totally crazy about her?" Grover casually explained the situation and Annabeth glared at you, her grey eyes dark and her mouth set. You took an involuntary step back, your life almost flashing before your eyes in your fear.

"Oh, really?" She shifted her eyes to Grover and you let go of the breath you didn't know you were holding in. "You think that's a good idea? I mean, she obviously doesn't care about him judging from her reactions this afternoon."

Irritation swelled in your chest at her implication. You narrowed your eyes at her, taking a step closer again, crossing your arms defensively. 

"How do you know how I feel? Contrary to popular belief, Annabeth, you actually  **don't** know everything. I have very good reasons for acting how I did, and I don't have to explain myself to you, you know." 

"Well, I don't know about you, but if someone I was attracted to kissed me I don't think I would push them away." She sniffed, stepping almost nose to nose at you, and you could feel the anger rolling off her. 

"What is your  **problem** with me, huh? You have done nothing but glare at me and disregard me since the day we met, and I have tried to be nice but you just keep being a total bitch!" 

"My problem? MY problem with you is that you walk around here, acting like your siblings bullying you means we should all feel bad, looking for good people like Percy and Grover to make you feel better, when all you have to do is stand up to them! It's all for attention, isn't it? I see through you, that's the problem."

You felt an unnatural wave of rage inside you, and you didn't stop it. You spoke lowly but deliberately, a dark edge to your words. "Now you listen to me Annabeth Chase. I don't ask for anything from anyone, I don't want anyone's pity, and my reasons for not standing up to my siblings is that  **I** **can't**. I have some issues with how I see myself, and as such I haven't got the confidence to tell my attractive and overwhelmingly confident siblings to fuck off, but gods do I want to. So don't presume to know  **anything** about me, when you couldn't even be bothered to try to understand me and all you did was  **judge**." You turned on your heel and walked off, heading back to your cabin without another word, feeling proud of yourself for standing up to  _someone_ , even if it was Annabeth and not your siblings.

Getting back to your cabin and snuggling up in your bed, you drifted off easier than you thought you would after a day like today, and dreamed of salty lips pressed against your own.

\------------------------------------------------

You woke up with the sun again, and managed to sneak into the pavilion and grab some food before going for a walk through the forest without walking into anyone important. Your red tank top paired with a silver leather jacket keeping you plenty warm, your jeans protecting your legs from the chill. You loved walking in the forest, the peace and serenity calming your thoughts and grounding you, the smells and sounds helping you reconnect with yourself. You had a similar fondness for swimming for the same reason, the feeling of being underwater and the peace that came with it was something you loved. You made your way to your favourite rock formation, from which you could overlook many of the cabins and some of the lake, wishing you'd brought your sketchpad to capture the landscape.

You felt it had only been about an hour and a half before someone approached you from behind, stopping a few paces behind you and seeming to hesitate, something they rarely did. They finally decided to approach you properly after a few more moments, and Annabeth came and sat next to you on the edge of the rocks. 

"I'm sorry for how I acted. I had no idea and I feel like a total bitch. To be honest, I though't you were just going to mess with him and I don't want my best friend to get hurt like that, you know?" She looked at you, for once there was no malice or hard edge to her eyes, soft sincerity taking it's place. You sighed.

"I'm sorry too. You had no way of knowing, and I'm sure from the outside it looked dodgy. I really do like Percy, but I don't know... I don't feel... worthy? I think that's the best way I can put it. And I guess I just never even entertained the idea of him seeing me like that." You looked down towards the lake as you said it, and she nudged your shoulder with hers. 

"Hey, don't talk like that. He likes you, you like him, from here there's only one way for it to go right?" she smiled at you gently. You gave her a small smile in return.

"Maybe." You shook your head lightly, "but I don't know. If we did go somewhere with it, I'm pretty sure I'd spend every day thinking how much better he could do."

"Well from what I understand, Percy thinks you're the  **shit**. Like, 'hasn't stopped talking about every little thing you've done for the past three years' kinda stuff." she snorted at you, and you giggled in shock.

"Three years?"

"Three years." 

\-------------------------------------------------

After spending about another forty minutes giggling and chatting, you made your way back to the camp with your new found friend. 

You spent the day with her at the archery range, working on your accuracy, with her giving you pointers here and there. By the end of that afternoon, you were getting at least one bull's eye out of every ten shots, so you were pretty damn proud of yourself. 

You had dinner outside the pavilion with her, noting in your head the absence of Percy and Grover, before deciding to go for another walk to wind down. Annabeth offered to join you, but you turned her down, saying you'd rather use this one to process things on your own. She waved goodbye as you walked off, you throwing a wave and a grin over your shoulder.

You made your way back to the rocks you so loved, but noticed that for some reason there were many poppies growing at the base that weren't there earlier. Intrigued, you bent to inspect them, before hearing a slow and deep laugh gently in your ears, and then suddenly, blackness.

\--------------------------------------------------

You vaguely became aware of your surroundings, feeling hard rock under your body and head, the sounds of running water nearby, and a damp, earthy smell. Your eyes were heavy, but you managed to open them slightly, finding yourself in a cave, and your eyes met those of a large man, his hair hanging by his head, some loose, some tied in knots, and his eyes looking drowsy. He lounged on a worn looking couch, one that looked very out of place in the cave. He smiled gently at you, a glint in his eyes, and you felt terror fill you as you realised your limbs were too heavy too move.

You were trapped. You had no idea where you were, who this guy was, or what was happening.

There was one thought going through your head.

**Percy. Help.**


	6. Chapter 6

You didn’t remember falling asleep again, but the next thing you knew, you were groggily rousing from another bout of sleep.

Before you shot up and remembered what had happened.

You had been taken, by some guy with hair that hung around his chin, and you were still in the cave with the weird couch, thoroughly confused and terrified. You could feel your palms sweating, your hand shaking slightly, as you surveyed the room, looking for possible exits and, if you couldn’t find a way out, then you needed to find something to fight with. You were suddenly glad for the training you’d done the last few days.

Unfortunately, the only thing you could find to fight with was a small rock, that just about fit in the palm of your hand. _Not exactly a sword_ , you thought to yourself, _but it’ll have to do._

You glanced around, trying to find the man you’d seen before, but all you could see was the empty couch where he was before. You still heard running water, so you tried to trace it, gently padding through the cave, glancing around, assessing for any danger.

You were so lucky that you’d had the training hammered into you for years on end.

The sound of water was getting louder, so you assumed you were getting closer to… whatever this was. You were hoping that by finding the river, you could follow it out of the cave and find your way back. You were overjoyed when you finally made it to the edge of a surprisingly large river, it looked like it was about 14 feet across, but you couldn’t tell properly in the low light of the cave. You also couldn’t see how deep it was, which was worrying. Looking both ways, neither one seemed more promising than the other, so you hesitated for a moment before heading right, following the riverbank closely, but not so close as to risk falling in. The dark water gave you a bad feeling, the hairs on the back of your neck standing up.

“I wouldn’t go that way, little one.” You froze. It was a deep voice, one that sounded slow and lazy, and you seemed to vaguely recollect a laugh when you were at the rocks that seemed like it belonged to the same person. You looked around frantically, trying to pinpoint the voice. The voice chuckled, the sound echoing around the caves, making it hard to focus on it.

“What do you mean?” Your voice sounded hoarse from not being used for gods know how long.

“This river leads to the underworld. If you keep going that way, you'll end up there too.”

“Oh really? Then how about you show me the way out then?” You channelled as much of your power as you could, hoping your charmspeak would work.

It didn’t.

“Oh, little one, that little trick won’t work on me.” Your stomach dropped at the amusement in the voice. You gripped the rock in your hand harder.

“Who are you? What do you want with me?” Your whole body was shaking, and you couldn’t help the sense of dread in the pit of your stomach.  The voice chuckled again, and you flinched at how much nearer it sounded.

“I am Hypnos, the very personification of sleep, and I brought you here because I was asked to. By your **mother**.”

Your jaw dropped. You knew your mother wasn’t your biggest fan, but _kidnapping_? Why would she do that? None of this made any sense. She thought you would be her most powerful child, but you fell short once puberty started and the weight began to stay on rather than keep off, and your powers stopped developing. When you were a kid, she helped you out when you needed it, watching over you, but since you were thirteen it all sort of stopped. But you never thought she’d stoop this low.

“What? Why would my mother ask you to do this?” You shook your head, unable to get your thoughts straight.

“She was unhappy you see. You were getting close to that boy, the one she didn’t like. She knew how you felt about him but she doesn’t want it going any further. So she needed you out of the picture while she sent one of her other daughters to distract him from you, her ‘biggest disappointment’. I’m just doing what I’m told here, no hard feelings, although I didn’t realise how delicious your dreams were. So full of **hope**. I may just keep you around for my entertainment.” The large man stepped out from behind a pillar, coming to circle you where you were frozen in your shock.

“She did what? Why exactly are you doing this? Just because she told you to? That’s ridiculous.” You shock turned to anger, unsure how to get out of this situation and frustrated by your mother and the god in front of you.

“Well, she promised me that she’d give me a necklace that was charmed to cause intense infatuation, something I sorely need from my wife. She isn’t fond of staying in the cave.”  He touched your chin, tilting your head up to look into your eyes. You began feeling very drowsy, but you tried desperately to fight off the need to sleep. The rock fell from your hands, clattering to the ground as you began to sway. “So unfortunately, you may have to stay here with me for a while. Don’t take it personally, little one, it’s just **business**.”

You fell, the drowsy laugh the final thing in your ears once again.

\---------------------------------------------------

**Percy POV:**

Worried didn’t even **begin** to cover it. Percy was out of his mind scared and anxious. Annabeth left you in the early evening yesterday, and since then, no one had seen you. You hadn’t gone back to the cabin, you hadn’t spoken to anyone and he looked by the lake and at the rocks, your favourite places, but there was no sign of you.

Annabeth and Grover were with him, on his way up to the Big House, needing to speak to Chiron and Mr. D about you going missing. They were struggling to keep up with him, the way he was half running, but they were just as worried and understood why he was in such a rush. They crashed into the office, finding both the directors in there, looking surprised at the campers’ sudden entrance.

“Y/n is missing. Can’t find her anywhere.” Percy blurted it out immediately, looking desperate. To his surprise, the centaur and god didn’t look surprised, if anything, they looked sad. Dionysus’ words were laced with regret.

“We know.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The situation heats up on all fronts.

_His lips were gliding along your skin, from your cheek to your jaw, trickling down your neck, nipping at your pulse point. Gasping, your hips shift forward, searching for friction that they just can’t get, he keeps kissing and nipping lower, across your collar bone, his tongue flicking out and leaving cool spots in its wake. Then he goes back up the other side, teasing you, nipping your earlobe when he reaches it, and you let out a whine of frustration. You try to glare down at him, shifting your hips to display your impatience, and he chuckles, his green eyes amused at your yearning for pleasure. He kisses you, finally, his lips soft and pliant against yours, until his tongue glides out and teases at your bottom lip, demanding entry that you are all too happy to give. Tongues battling for dominance, sliding and curling, exploring, tasting slightly salty and driving you crazy. In the back of your mind you wonder how it reached this point, Percy Jackson kissing you on the floor of a cave god knows where and-_

_He notices your hesitation and pulls back, leaning up on his knees looking down at you, his brow furrowed._

_“What’s wrong?” His voice echoes slightly in the cave, sounding almost perfect but still wrong. You shake your head, as if that will shake off the uneasy feeling in your stomach._

This is wrong.

_“I-I don’t know… something feels off, Percy.” Your voice sounds far away to your own ears, something is definitely wrong, but you can’t pinpoint what it is._

_“What are you talking about? Everything’s perfect, Y/n, we’re together.” He gives you a small smile, his brow still furrowed in confusion. “Just relax, little one.”_

Little one.

The cave.

You bolt up, finally awake properly again. This was the third time you’d had dreams like this about Percy since Hypnos decided to keep you for ‘fun’. You had no idea how long you’d been in the cave, but you weren’t hungry, just tired, the eternal darkness of the cave keeping you lethargic and unable to move. You wanted to try to fight your way out, but every time you tried, Hypnos just sent you back to sleep. You wanted more than anything to go home.

Until you remembered that your mother was against you and had set this whole thing up, somehow having a problem with you getting anywhere near Percy, even though that made absolutely no sense whatsoever, but then again you were a demigod from a magical camp for other demigods. You weren’t exactly the spokesperson for ‘normal’.

You felt Hypnos’ drowsiness settling over you again, and succumbed to it easily, giving up slowly and accepting that this was your life now, a plaything to a weirdo God who enjoyed feeding on your dreams.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Percy POV:**

“You **what**?” He asked, disbelieving. “You know she’s missing? And you’re not worried, **at all** , about that?”

Mr. D looked apologetic, unable to meet Percy’s gaze, instead finding his fingers to be the most interesting things ever as the curled around each other in his lap. Chiron picked up a box from the table, holding out a necklace from within it and looking at Annabeth instead, feeling the fury radiating from Poseidon’s son.

“We found this in Cabin 10, at the foot of one of the girls’ beds. Stephanie said her mother had sent her a gift but she hadn’t opened it yet, and when we retrieved it, it had a letter attached. It was from Aphrodite, all right, and she told her that this necklace was charmed to make the wearer more alluring, and that she wanted Stephanie to wear it and see what she could do about, ahem, ‘ **getting** ’ you, Percy.” Chiron’s face was vastly uncomfortable as he explained, and Percy’s jaw dropped.

“Me? What does she want with me?”

“Let me finish. She then went on to explain how she had enlisted a friend to help keep Y/n away, as she didn’t like how close the two of you were getting, and that Stephanie was to make you forget about her. I’ve no idea why, Percy, but this has something to do with you.”

 “My son, Hypnos, has helped out Gods in the past with things of this nature, and when I asked him about it he was… suspicious. Not to mention the poppies that were at the rocks where Y/n disappeared.” Mr. D finally looked up and met Percy’s gaze. “He has a cave, I don’t know where, so don’t ask me, but I think he’s got her there. We can’t get her without the location so we’re at a loss for what to do. I could **really** use a drink…” he finished his contribution by rubbing his forehead and staring wistfully at the wine bottles on his desk.

The three teens were gaping, unable to comprehend what they were being told.

“But… why does Aphrodite want Y/n away from Percy? This doesn’t make **any** sense…” Annabeth shook her head, the gears in her head practically smoking with how fast they were turning at her need to understand.

“Maybe she’s jealous? I mean, let’s be real here, she’s always kinda had a thing for Percy.” Grover offered tentatively, seeing Percy shudder at the thought.

“It doesn’t matter, we have to get her back.” Percy had a look of determination on his face.

“Easier said than done,” Chiron looked uneasy still, his brow crinkled in thought. “We have no idea where Hypnos’ cave is.”

“Ask Hermes, he always knows where people are, especially gods, right?” Grover looked hopeful, but he was trying not to get his hopes up, the thought of one of his best friends being missing stressing him out more than he cared to admit.

“We sent a message to him, he hasn’t gotten back to us yet, but _if_ he does, we’ll let you know.” Chiron waved them out of the door, shutting it behind them. It was dinner time, but none of them were hungry.

 

They couldn’t have kept it down.

Annabeth felt sick at the thought of a God keeping you hostage.

Grover felt ill thinking about how scared and hurt you might be.

Percy thought he was going to throw up at the thought of not knowing if you were okay.

 

**You had to be okay.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so i know Hypnos doesnt feed on dreams but i had to make it work!   
> Ill be altering Hypnos' location too since it doesnt say (anywhere i can find) the exact location of his cave.  
> Love yall, lemme know what you think! and if you want a request you can always request something off me and i'll see what i can do!  
> my tumblr is: nofuckignway.tumblr.com  
> or just comment it here  
> whatever floats your boat lovelies  
> <3 hope you like!  
> And i know i promised fluff but it didnt quite work in this chapter so itll be next chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy is suffering and manages to own your sister  
> you are so sick of this shit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOYO  
> ILY ALL  
> so much  
> sorry for not updating on like an actual schedule  
> im a piece of shit <3  
> ENJOY! <3

_His hands were massaging your hips, his thumbs slipping under your top to feel the silky skin hidden beneath, his lips and tongue marking your neck and collarbone. You gripped the short hairs at the back of his neck, tugging lightly, pushing your lips into his more insistently, and relishing the taste and smell of him. His hand ghosted down, across the front of your thigh, reaching towards the button on your jeans. You sighed, his teeth nipping down your neck again sending pleasure shooting through your core. You felt his fingers begin to trace the outline of your center through your panties, but he continued to tease you, never applying enough pressure to ease your frustrations, but just enough to allow you to feel it. The breathless laugh in your ear tipped you off to the fact that it wasn’t really Percy. It was too deep, too slow to be his, and it made you remember your situation. You shoved him away from you, glaring at him. The sinister smile on his face made you shudder, and the Percy in front of you melted away…_

Waking up again, you decided you were quickly getting tired of these damn dreams. You’d had a few where he tried to save you, a few where you just sat and talked, but mostly they became a little bit more… intimate. Hypnos seemed to enjoy those ones more, unable to help himself from the excitement that started to pulse through you when you thought about Percy like that.

It’s starting to really piss you off.

Your life doesn’t revolve around Percy **fucking** Jackson.

You have your own life. You are your own person, and no way in hell are you going to sit down and let Hypnos run your dreams like that. You’re gonna change those dreams into someone, **anyone** else. 

Percy Jackson does **not** get to be the supposed center of your universe.

You're the center of your **own** damn universe.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Percy POV

Reading this many books, Percy was surprised and **outraged** that he could find **anything** about the location of Hypnos’ cave. Annabeth is looking everywhere she can, asking her mother for something, any information, but so far, nothing. Grover is asking the nymphs and other campers about you, asking them to spread the word that you’re missing, but no one knows anything. Percy was so worried about you, he couldn’t sleep properly, he barely ate, he was too scared, too intent on finding you.

He decided to go for a swim to try and clear his head. Slipping into the water by his cabin, he lowered his head under the waves, using the peaceful silence to sort through any information he had about Hypnos, which to be honest, was very little. He knows Hypnos is the personification of sleep, and feeds on the dreams and nightmares of humanity. He knows that very few people have access to the cave, and that the only information anyone has about said cave is that it is surrounded by a field of poppies, so getting there will need some kind of antidote for the sleeping curse over them.

Coming up after a few minutes, he pulled himself out of the water and shook his head, running his hands through his hair to get it out of his face. He stared down at where his feet were still in the water, wishing Hermes would hurry the hell up and find the cave.

A small giggle behind him alerted him to the presence of another person. He turned to see Stephanie sitting there, one pale hand on her hip, the other moving a strand of red hair away from her face. She came over and sat next to him, keeping her feet to the side of her, looking mildly disgusted at the water. Percy had never really spent time with her, but now that he knew how she treated you, and that your mother had tried to get her to distract him from you, he actively avoided her.

“Why are you sitting here looking depressed, Jackson?” Her voice pulled him out of his reverie, his eyes resting on a tree just behind her, unable to look at the person who made you feel so horrible.

“Someone I care about has gone missing, Stephanie, do you expect me to celebrate?” He hoped the sarcasm and irritation that laced his words would get the message across to her that he didn’t want to talk to her.

“Oh my **Gods** who even cares about her anyway? She doesn’t even **do** anything; she just sits there and mopes. You're Percy Jackson; you deserve someone so much better than **that** **thing**.” She rolled her eyes, glaring out at the water. Percy’s jaw hung open, amazed that your sister would be such a bitch and be so blunt. He manages to close his mouth and recover fairly quickly, glaring right at her.

“What, you mean someone like you?” His words dripped with poison, his glare intense, but she happily giggled and smiled, unaware of what effect she was having on him.

“Exactly. Even my mother decided that you should be with me and not her. You should really just forget about her.” She finally turned to look at Percy, her smile dropping when she saw his face.

“How you could be so mean and judgemental towards your own sibling amazes me, but let me make this perfectly clear. You **disgust** me. You are everything I **hate** in the world all wrapped up. I would never let go of someone as amazing and kind and pure as Y/n is for someone like you, so do me a favour? **Fuck off.** ” He finished his speech by drenching Stephanie with water from the lake, her screech of surprise filling him with a sense of pride as he walked back inside his cabin, deciding that he’d had enough of a break from research.

After a few more hours, Percy finally gets some good news. Annabeth comes charging into his cabin around dinner time, breathless, but with a spark in her eyes that hasn’t been there for a while.

“Chiron said Hermes came through. They know where the cave is, he wants to see us like, now!”

Percy was out of the door before she could turn around, sprinting over to the Big House as fast as his legs could manage. He burst through the door, out of breath but managing to wheeze out a quick _where is she?!_

Mr.D looked surprised, but recovered and glanced down at the note in his hand.

“Washington. DC. How the hell? How many big fields of poppies are there in DC?”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have a chance at escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM BACK  
> SORTA  
> YEAH  
> HI ILY ALL HOPE YOUR NEW YEAR IS GOOD SO FAR  
> okay so i just wanna say if yall have any requests pls pls pls pls lemme know i want more things to write!   
> anywaay i hope you enjoy!!!!

You had been working so hard towards being able to control the dreams, even just a little, and with how much sleep you were getting it surprised you how tired you were. You had to channel all of your energy into very small changes to the dreams, trying to find a way to just _wake up_.

Resisting was only the tiniest bit easier, with you managing to hold off on falling asleep when Hypnos made you drowsy for a few extra seconds, but you clung to them. Told yourself that _anything_ is better than nothing. Hypnos was as lazily creepy as ever, his slow smiles causing a shiver of disgust to roll down your spine.

He did let you stay awake sometimes, which confused you. Why would he want to feed on your dreams but not have you sleep all the time?

You had woken probably 2 minutes ago, but to be honest you couldn’t tell how much time had passed. Had you been in the cave for days? Weeks? You couldn’t have been there for months. There was no way.

You hoped.

You sat with your back up against a pillar, your legs crossed at the ankle, your head tipped back. You didn’t know why you weren’t hungry, or thirsty, but you only questioned it at times when you’d been awake a while.

The annoying thing was, you still needed to pee.

You got to your feet, slightly wobbly from the muscles in your legs being used so little lately.  You made your way over to your designated ‘pee corner’, as far away from the main area you stayed in as you could manage in the confines of the cave. Finishing up your business, you shuffled back to the main area of the cave.

“I’ve never missed toilet paper more in my life…” you mumbled to yourself, the damp in your underwear a very uncomfortable feeling. “I would kill to be able to shower right about now.”

“Well darling, I cant help with that but I might be able to help you get out…!” a high and lilting voice interrupted you and you stumbled to a halt, your eyes darting around and searching for the source. Damn this cave and all the echoes…

“Who’s there? Hypnos is that you? I'm sick of you messing with me like this, if you wanna feed off my dreams then just do it but for _fucks sake_!” You yelled at the cave. A high pitched giggle reached you, a tall and slim woman coming out from behind another pillar. Her brown hair fell straight past her waist, her dark eyes sharp, a glazed, dreamy look in them. She walked up to me with her hands behind her back, smiling gently at me.

“I’m not Hypnos. I’m his wife, Pasithea. I had no idea he was keeping you here you poor soul.” She gave you a pitying look, sadness seeping into her eyes. She stopped in front of you, glancing over her shoulder and lowering her voice. “No one deserves to be kept in the cave, I would know. There is a centaur guarding the entrance to the cave, he will stop you from leaving. I can show you the way but fighting him is up to you. I will do all I can to distract my husband, but I guarantee nothing.”

“How exactly am I meant to fight off a centaur, with my bare hands and a belief in _hope_?” You scoffed, folding your arms over your chest. She gave you a small smile. She brought her hands out from behind her back, a beautiful scabbard in them. The hilt of the short sword was elegant, a leather band wrapped tightly around it, a bright red gem in the pommel. She handed it to you, and you noted it was perfectly balanced. You looked up at her after unsheathing it slightly and noting the shine on the metal. “Why are you helping me?”

Her smile was gentle, the look in her eye so delicate you felt warm all over.

“He keeps me here all the time too. I hate it, probably just as much if not more than you. You deserve a chance at freedom.” She began to back away, heading back behind the pillar. “Good luck dear, I hope you don’t die!” She disappeared behind the pillar with that.

Well **shit**.

A small glow lead you towards one side of the cave, you figured it was Pasithea showing you the way out, and after a while of cautious walking and wincing at every little sound, you eventually spied the entrance.

And the _fucking **huge**_ centaur in between you and it.

You’d seen centaurs before, but this guy had to be a mutant centaur by the size of him. He looked about 16 foot tall, his skin dark and scarred, his thick black hair down to his shoulders and dusting his chest. His beard was short, his eyes closed as he listened to the sounds outside the cave.

What worried you most was the massive sword on his back. The sword had to be 3 times the size of yours.

How the **_fuck_** were you meant to fight that? You had no chance, no way, even with Percy’s training you couldn’t-

Wait.

**_Percy._ **

**_Annabeth._ **

**_Grover._ **

If you didn’t get out of here, you’d never see your friends again, stay in this cave forever and wish you’d tried while an insane god feeds on your dreams.

You only debated for a moment more, before drawing your sword and creeping closer to the centaur. You steeled yourself once you were a few feet away, crouched behind a rock, and then _lunged._

** Percy POV **

Annabeth, Grover and Percy were stood in the middle of the biggest field of poppies they could find in DC. They had no idea whether it was the right one.

However the massive cave right in the centre was looking fairly positive.

“So, we go in, find Y/n, and get out as fast as we can.” Percy said, looking his friends in the eyes and attempting to appear _half_ as scared as he actually was so they would stay calm.

“And hopefully don’t run into a crazy god who can put us to sleep?” Grover said, his unease evident in his tone.  “Cause that’d be great. Fantastic. Magnifico. Amazi-”

“Grover.” Annabeth lightly smacked his shoulder, his mouth clamping shut as he clutched his upper arm.

They began making their way closer, slowing down as they neared the mouth of the cave and heard the clash of steel, and grunts of exertion and pain. Once close enough, they made out the two figures, a person and an extremely large centaur.

“Is that…?” Annabeth squinted at the person, noting the (h/c) hair of them and her eyes widenening at her realisation. “Is that Y/n!?”


End file.
